In some surgical procedures involving bones, for instance, the procedure may involve separating a bone into portions, which are thereafter reunited. This happens, for instance, in entries into the chest cavity, as for heart surgery, where the sternum is required to be separated along its length (resected), in the transverse plane, or a combination of the two. There may be other instances where a bone has been separated for the purpose of surgery or has undergone fracturing through some trauma, and is thereafter to have portions rejoined for proper healing.